


The Moon Moves Out in Front

by waltztangocache



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Character Death, F/F, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Pining, adularia, being nice to kids, carpentry, she comes back to life tho?, spoilers to sih21
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 06:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18231026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waltztangocache/pseuds/waltztangocache
Summary: Adaire rolls a 7-9 on Last Breath.





	The Moon Moves Out in Front

Adaire wasn’t a stranger to death. No matter what exact business you’re doing, when you’re working below board you’re never safe from it; the people who deal in it and those for whom it’s just a risk of their work. Adaire had killed people, had known people who had died, had known people who had died and come back to life, and had even spent some time with the living manifestation of death herself, but she’d never died.

Well, she hadn’t. Then, after the dragon attack, she’d been helping Rix and Roe rebuild their hovel. Rix had sat herself on the part of the roof that was stable, right over the one corner that had stayed standing when Samol’s bones had crushed the rest, while Adaire stood at the top of the ladder she had managed to borrow. Roe was down on the ground, running around playing with some refugee kids. Neither Rix nor Adaire had thought he’d be useful up here, more likely he’d knock one of them or himself off the roof, so Rix had told him to go play but to stick close by and not try to steal from any of the other kids. 

“So what you want to do,” Adaire had said, “is hold the nail near the top, then hit it with the hammer so it goes in most of the way, then move your hand and hit it the rest of the way in.” She removed her hands to show Rix the pieces of lumber connected by one metal dot, then handed the hammer over. “Your turn.”

Rix rolled her eyes as she took the hammer. “I don’t know why you don’t trust me to hammer a nail by myself.”

“I do,” Adaire sighed, pointing to where the next nail should go, “but what I don’t trust you to do is not break your fingers. Hold that lower down.” Adaire took Rix’s hand and adjusted her grip on the hammer. “There you go. Now go ahead.” 

Rix’s face screwed up in focus as she sank the nail. Once it was in she looked back up at Adaire. “Why do we even need nails and wood and everything? I liked our hovel fine before.”

Adaire passed over another nail, then leaned over to help Rix place the beams where they should go. She sighed again. “It was habitable, sure, but it was falling apart. Some things, you put more work into them at the start, and they don’t need as much upkeep. It’s all about establishing something good and cultivating more from there.” She scratched the side of her head as Rix hammered the next nail in. “Anyway, look at you. Nail two and you’re a pro already.”

Adaire saw Rix open her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything the ladder shook and the hovel listed away. Adaire felt herself topple backwards, saw Roe on the ground where he’d landed after running into the ladder, and heard Rix’s squeaky voice yell, “Oh shit, Adaire!” Then, her head hit something hard and the world went black. 

~~~

The day had been cool and mild, but when Adaire awoke it was cool in a different way. It wasn’t a breezy spring day; it was humid and drafty, like she was deep underground. The next thing she noticed, coming into consciousness, was the smell: not wet and drafty, like one would expect in a cave, but bright, like citrus fruit and far-off seawater. Adaire was confused, and her head hurt, but she knew where she was.

Adaire opened her eyes and raised her head to look around. She was in what could charitably be described as a void, if not for the white marble floor. She pushed herself up from where she was lain on a white upholstered fainting couch, one of five she could see arranged in a semicircle. The open side of the circle pointed towards an ornate iron gate, with orange glowing lanterns on either side and ADULARIA wrought in the arch above. Beyond the gate Adaire could see rows of white stone buildings, and hear the echoes of people talking inside. Something deep inside her told her to turn around, to investigate out in the void where she could see the marble ground fade into murky black. Adaire knew this place, though, and knew a shitty idea when she heard one, so she got up and walked to the gate.

The gate was ajar, so she headed into the town, her headache already starting to fade as she got some distance from the Nothing. As she walked inside she was startled by a sudden flash of color as a Mistral landed on the ground directly in front of her. Adaire instinctively grabbed her dagger off her belt, lunging at the birdlike man who fainted out of the way. “Shit! Sorry for startling you!”

Adaire returned her dagger to it’s sheath, gathering herself. “Sorry for trying to stab you. Nothing personal.”

The Mistral chuckled. “Trust me, I get it. You just got here, huh? My name is Raphoa, I’m sort of the appointed welcome party around here.”

“Really?” Adaire asked, raising her eyebrows. “I would have thought that Adelaide would have been handling that kind of thing herself.”

Raphoa narrowed his eyes. “You know Lady Adelaide?”

“Yeah, I do,” Adaire sighed. “It’s a long story. I need to see her though, do you know where she is?”

Raphoa stared at her for a second, then said, “The Lady lives in that house over there,” gesturing toward what was, in hindsight, obviously Adelaide’s house. It was made of the same white stone in the same tall, columned style as the rest of the buildings, but it was larger and slightly offset from the rest, up on what was essentially a raised pedestal. Adaire could make out people walking up and down the stairs in front of it. “Do you need any help getting there?” Raphoa asked, still suspicious.

“I think I’ll be fine.” Adaire started to walk away toward the building, calling back over her shoulder, “You don’t need to follow me, Raphoa, it’s not like I’m going to kill her.”

~~~

Adaire approached Adelaide’s home, which apparently doubled as a throne hall. Adaire was allowed in, but he had to wait in line to see Adelaide, behind various Adularian citizens coming to her with issues. It reminded her of the setup at the Last University, except that she knew that there it was out of necessity, where here Adelaide seemed to take joy from the ritual of royal reception. The floors were cleaned to spotless reflection, and, as they let her into the throne room, the door guard said, “Your majesty, presenting Miss Adaire Ducarte.” The whole thing would be impressive if Adaire didn’t know that it was meant to be.

Adelaide’s perfect eyebrows shot up when she saw Adaire, and a smirk landed on her face as she rose from her white throne. Her navy blue gown that clung to her figure. Her footsteps echoed across the room as she walked over to where Adaire stood. “My dear friend Adaire! Didn’t think I’d be seeing you so soon.” Her smirk turned into a real smile, but there was still a cruel flash in her eyes. “So how’d it happen? Did you do something noble? Or did all your ignobility catch up to you?”

Adaire snorted. “Fuck off, Adelaide.” She ran a hand over her face, then looked Adelaide dead in her eyes. “You need to send me back.”

“Am I not enough for you?” Adelaide asked, pouting theatrically. “Oh, of course not. You wish my Knight was here with us.”

Adaire’s hands clenched into fists of their own regard. “I thought I told you to fuck off.”

Adelaide raised her hands in faux surrender. “Alright, fine, forget I said anything.” She turned to walk back to her throne, the bottom of her dress trailing the ground behind her. “Although,” she sighed, “I must admit, even if you don’t wish she was here, I do.” She set herself down into her throne, lounging across it sideways with her legs up on the arm and gesturing with one hand. “Hella has a way of making you feel safe, even though she could kill you in an instant if she wanted to. I’m sure you know the feeling. Don’t you?”

“You are the most frustrating person I know.”

Adelaide’s smile was knife-sharp. “That’s not a no, Adaire.” She gestured to a chair Adaire hadn’t noticed before. “Pull that over. Let’s chat.”

Adaire grabbed the chair, which was upholstered with the same fabric as the fainting couch she’d woken up on, and placed it directly in front of the throne. She deadpanned, “You’re not about to demand a favor of me, are you?”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, Adaire.” Adelaide turned to place her feet back on the floor, then leaned forward and put elbows to knees as she spoke. “You care about Hella. About my knight. Don’t bother denying it, Adaire, I know it’s true. That’s what I need from you.” Adaire must have squinted in her confusion, because Adelaide laughed at the expression on her face. “You’re a smart woman, Adaire, I’m surprised you don’t get it. I care about her too, very deeply, but I can’t be there with her. I have my kingdom, and she has her duties which keep us from each other. We had our time with each other, in that damned sword. I’m happy for how it’s all gone, even if I can’t be there with her.”

“That’s where you come in.” The smirk was back on Adelaide’s face. “I can’t see Hella how I once could. You know as well as I do that her new position with me has been stressful for her, that she’s still adjusting. Did you meet Raphoa on your way in?”

Adaire nodded. “I did.”

“He was the first person Hella sent to me. After, of course, she killed him herself. If want to be confident in her wellbeing, I need someone I trust by her side.” Adelaide’s eye contact was direct and intense. “Adaire Ducarte, you are the only person on Hieron who feels the way I do about Hella Varal. I’ll send you back to her if you’ll vow to protect her, and show her that she’s cared for. Do what I’d do for her if I could.”

A breath caught in Adaire’s throat. “Do you mean I should-”

“I do,” Adelaide admitted, face solemn. “I know you’d like that. I can assure you that she would too. Though I have to warn you,” she smirked, “names beginning in A can be a bit confusing for her.”

Adaire coughed and sputtered, blushing like a schoolgirl. She swore, if she hadn’t already died today that would have been the death of her. Meanwhile, Adelaide laughed lightly. “Is that a deal, then, Adaire? May I send you on your way?”

Adaire nodded. “We have a deal.” Then, still blushing, “...Are you sure she would want that? I mean, she has you, why would she want more?”

When Adelaide spoke she had more earnestness in her voice than Adaire had ever heard. “She cares about you, fool. You forget how much time she and I spent together in that sword. We’d go out on her boat and she wouldn’t be able to stop talking about you. She might be my knight, but that doesn’t mean she’s mine, not completely.” Then, she smiled, and for the first time Adaire could remember, there wasn’t any steel in it. “I’m going to wake you up now, Adaire. Thank you for visiting me. I’d say I’d see you soon, but hopefully I won’t for a while.”

Then, she laid one delicately manicured hand on Adaire’s shoulder, and the throne room went black.

~~~

This time, Adaire woke up on the ground, not a couch, and the sky was bright behind her eyelids, her skin greeted by that same cool breeze. Her eyes focused, showing her the blue sky, and the half-built hovel, and there, above her, a woman with brown skin and dark red hair.

Hella sat back and ran a hand over her face. “Oh thank god, Adaire, I thought you were dead. I know you like those kids, but man, someone needs to watch them-”

“I was.”

Hella’s brow knit in confusion. “You were what?”

Adaire chuckled, suddenly nervous. “I was dead. I died.”

The blood rushed out of Hella’s face. “Oh shit, are you okay? I can go get somebody- wait, did you see Adelaide?”

Adaire nodded.

Hella’s eyes got even wider than they already were, and her voice came out unsteady. “Oh. Ok. H-how is she? Did you guys talk? What did she say-”

“Hella?” Hella fell silent. Adaire took one breath, just to steady herself. “Hella, we can talk about this, about everything, we should, but right now I just want to kiss you.” Adaire took one look at Hella’s shocked face, then looked back to the ground. “If that’s alright. If not I can g-”

Adaire was cut off by a pair of lips gently pressing against hers, accompanied by a hand on her arm. Hella leaned away, but Adaire leaned forward and caught her lips again, and now that she was ready she kissed Hella with everything she had, pushing years worth of longing into her movements. When they parted Hella was blushing, hard, her lips red and her braid coming undone. She panted for a moment, then Adaire saw her grin, and felt herself grinning back.

They sat like that for a moment, smiling like idiots, before Adaire got up and dusted off her skirt. “I should go find Rix and Roe,” she said. “They probably think I’m dead.”

Hella smiled up at her from where she was still sat on the ground. “Care for some company with that?”

“Sounds lovely.” And, in spite of everything, Adaire felt perfectly safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I’ve never written fanfic before but boy howdy do I love Friends at the Table. 
> 
> Title from Little Death by The Beths:  
> “There's no sign of the sun  
> So the moon moves out in front  
> She wants to be aligned  
> We all want to be aligned”
> 
> Yes before you ask I have a specific dress in mind for Adelaide you can find it here: http://www.albumip.com/navy-sheer-floral-applique-keyhole-back-bodycon-maxi-dress
> 
> Finally you can follow me on twitter @waltztangocache or on tumblr @fourteenfifteen! I love this podcast please come through and talk to me about it.
> 
> That’s it! Hope you enjoyed~
> 
> -Lee


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